And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,and by the word of their testimony; and they LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES unto the death [Rev 12:11]

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Echoes Down the Corridors of History - Part FOUR

Part FIVE

Politics and Religion

Where is the balance when it comes to standing
for truth as a Christian and one’s involvement in the arena of politics? Should
a Christian have any involvement in politics? Should we remain silent publicly
and hide in our prayer closets?

I personally believe that we must stand true to the moral
principles in God’s word and keep His commandments. [See Revelation 12:17;
14:12 and 22:14] Protests against moral issues, as well as against government are
rarely peaceful, but often instigate violence, at times leading to injury or
death. I do not see where such a thing
is condoned or even supported in scripture.

I do believe that if the Lord calls a man or
woman into civil service or into higher positions in government, they should do
His will. It takes great courage to be in such positions and stand for truth,
especially where deception abounds. These believers need our prayers (as we all
do) for protection, wisdom, knowledge etc. How long would a true believer last in today's government without being assassinated or cut loose in some way?

Murder and killing are two different things.
Murder is killing with malice (selfish gain and/or evil intent). Extremists and
terrorists commit murder; however, someone can kill someone by accident or in
self-defense (rape, robbery, home invasion) or protection (such as in war,
defending an endangered individual etc).

People say God contradicted Himself when He
commanded people not to murder, yet sent warriors into many battles. Not so, as there is a difference between
murder and killing. I imagine just making these statements, based on moral
principles in the word of God I may have disturbed the hornet’s nest, which is
not my intent, so I shall leave it at that, for it is not the crux of these
articles.

God knows the difficulty in the higher positions
in today’s societies. If, and I do
emphasize if, He has chosen a person for a certain position, He has good reason
for doing so. If the person is a true believer, they will do His will; if not,
God will still accomplish that which He wants to accomplish, whether we
understand the grand plan or not. The Word of God will be accomplished.

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not
return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I
sent it. [Is 55:11]

Each true believer must decide for themselves.
Each person must study scripture and pray to God, and do what the Lord tells
them. For various legitimate reasons, many believe in having no weapons and depend on God for protection. This
decision must be between the Lord and that person, and it should be left at
that. Extremism works both ways.

Everyone is given different gifts, skills, abilities
and strengths in diverse areas and to varying degrees. Danger lurks and betrayals take place at all
levels and walks in life, as they ever have from the beginning of time.

The ways of removing influential people who
oppose the plan for globalization with its One World Government (fascist),
monetary system, court, police and One World leader are not only a reality, but
technology has advanced exponentially (more on this in another chapter).

We have witnessed leaders who claim to be
Christian, yet stand for everything that is against the morals and the very
basic principles that the Bible teaches. These are those who preach more on
political issues than on repentance, the cross or Jesus’ sacrifice and spilled
blood, or about the gift of salvation because of Christ’s sacrifice and God’s
mercy and grace.

They invoke the congregation to become involved,
and advocate riotous behaviour or disorderly conduct, or to bring condemnation
to “sinful people” by their mere presence at certain places, events or
functions. Condemnation is not conviction.

The former is of the world, flesh or the adversary,
which brings guilt, shame, depression, anger etc, putting one on the defensive,
but the latter will open our eyes to what we are doing, which may cause grief,
sorrow, remorse or anguish that pricks our heart, producing a desire to change,
to turn (repent) from sin.

In order
to convince people to avoid politics or political discussions (which everyone
has), some Christians pull out scripture (Mat 6:24) about a person not being
able to serve two masters, but will serve either God or mammon.

It is listed as a
“Semitic term for “the treasure a person trusts in”, transliterated as mammon
(J.Thayer), according to Strong’s
concordance. Strong’s include that is likely an Aramaic term that means “to
trust” (J. Thayer)

Just a side note:
Mammon is a word from the Semitic language,
spoken by the original and ancient Arameans and Chaldeans, who migrated around
Babylonia and Assyria, the upper Mesopotamia, which is the land between the rivers
Tigris/Euphrates, now known as northern Iraq, NW Iran (borders), SE Turkey and Syria).

The word is also
listed as Aramaic;
a dialect introduced to the Semitic language by an Assyrian king and called
Mesopotamian Aramaic, it became known as the mother tongue of the Assyrians (during
the Assyrian Empire; called Chaldo-Assyrian) and spoken by Christians in Iraq
and surrounding areas even today. Some
historians state that ancient Aram bordered northern Israel, which shares
borders with Syria.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and
love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye
cannot serve God and mammon.[Mat
6:24]

In Matthew 6,
Jesus/Yeshua is speaking at length about giving and praying, and the proper
heart attitudes and ways to accomplish both. In fact, it is in this chapter
that Jesus gave an example of how to pray, and His very words became known as “The Lord’s Prayer”.

Yeshua then expounds upon fasting and doing it in
secret, and the “Father, which sees in
secret, shall reward you openly.” [vs 18] It is then that Jesus speaks
about laying up treasure in heaven, where it cannot be corrupted or stolen.

Remember, He had been speaking about giving,
praying and fasting (precious acts/treasures when it is a sacrifice unto the Lord) that we do/give, not just in a
monetary sense, but in a spiritual one. He
speaks about doing these things privately/secretly, but explains how God sees
all. This is the “light” within that
He went on to speak of.

After teaching the above, only then does the
verse about ‘mammon’ follow. Therefore, in keeping the words of Matthew 6 in proper
order and within context, please tell me how serving “mammon” pertains to politics
or even to being in civil or judicial positions of authority, or to being in
the upper echelons of the government hierarchy - unless you are speaking of salaries, bonuses, bribes that pay seductive sums of money and/or other lucrative perks that might come with such positions.

To me, the verse about mammon correlates with
other teachings about covetousness and how we are to keep God first, above all
things. Jesus said unto him, You shall love the Lord thy God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.[Mat 22:27; see
also Deut 6:5]

In other words, we
will either treasure God first and all there is about Him, with every part of
our being, or we will treasure the
things of this world (mammon). We cannot do both, or we cannot serve two
masters. So, in my estimated opinion, it can safely be said that the
aforementioned scripture cannot rightly be used regarding politics, unless
taken out of context.

Scriptures reveals to us that division,
opposition and separation has, does and will happen among the faithful. On the eve of His arrest, Jesus warned His
apostles that they would be offended (aggrieved, upset) by Him later that
night, and flee, deserting Him. They had no idea what He meant at the time He
said it.

Then said Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of Me this
night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock
shall be scattered abroad. [Mat
26:31]

It is written that after the arrest of
Jesus/Yeshua at the Garden of Gethsemane, the apostles were upset, indeed,
aggrieved by Jesus’ arrest. In fear,
they became divided, each one fleeing in different directions – they scattered.
They separated themselves from Him, unwilling to let authorities know
they had been with Him. Judas had opposed and betrayed Him. Jesus had
prophesied it happening.

Paul and Barnabus had gone on their first
missionary trip together. When Barnabus wanted his cousin John (known by his
surname Mark), to go with them, Paul refused to allow it. He was still angry that
Mark had deserted them previously. Each were opposed in their position,
resulting in Paul and Barnabus separating.

And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was
Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them
from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so
sharp between them, that they departed asunder (separated)
one from the other: and so Barnabas took
Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus

[Acts 15:37-39]

Real people living in a real world! Paul spoke
well of both Barnabus and John Mark in later times, but scripture does indicates that there was respect between them. In 2Tim 4:11, Paul states that Mark was "profitable" (useful, a great help) in the ministry. Suffice it to say that their 'sharp disagreement' between Paul and Barnabus was a personal one, and not a doctrinal one at that point. Therefore, we have witnessed those who
departed from Jesus/Yeshua because of truth (doctrines), and those who separated for personal reasons that are unrelated to the gospel of Christ Jesus. Major difference!

There are those who claim to believe in God and commit
atrocities that He would never condone, yet these certain individuals or groups
are very prideful, arrogant and self-righteous. Most assuredly, they are not acting in obedience, according to
God’s will or His commandments.

The purity of the truth in Jesus/Yeshua’s words was
offensive to some of the people. Jesus had explained many things to them in
parables and other teachings, yet His words brought an offense to many and thusly, a
separation, a falling away. However, truth is not relative.

There is a famous quote that truth is absolute
and exclusive. Pilate once asked Jesus, “What
is truth?” Jesus remained silent,
for if Pilate had ever heard Him teach, He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father
but by Me.” [Jn 14:6] Pilate was staring truth in the face and knew it not.

We know that Jesus/Yeshua did not lead groups
to rally (protest) against Rome. We know that He did not seek leadership as
King and stated emphatically that His kingdom was not of this world.

The Pharisees, a very religious, law-abiding
sort, questioned Jesus (Yeshua) about whether or not it was right to pay taxes
to Caesar (dictator/Roman political leader/prefect). Jesus immediately
discerned the intent of their heart.

They were not asking because they genuinely
wanted to do the right thing. Jesus had
just spoken a parable about a wedding feast [see Mattew 22 for full story], the
guests, and in particular, one guest who did not have on a wedding garment.

The guest symbolized a hypocrite, an uninvited guest, an intruder, who did not
belong. The Pharisees had been called hypocrites by Jesus before and they
understood the point He was making. In an effort to turn the tables and trap
Him, they posed a tricky question, but Jesus discerned the wickedness in trying
to tempt (test/trap) Him.

One could say that it was a political question.
Think about it. Is not the topic of taxes a political issue? Some would even
argue that. Yet the Pharisees pointedly asked Jesus about whether it was right
to pay taxes to the governor or not.

Tell us therefore, What think you? Is it lawful to give tribute unto
Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived
their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites? (Remember,
Jesus had just told the parable of the wedding feast, and the one guest who had
no wedding garment, which symbolized a hypocrite amongst believers.)

Show Me the tribute money. And they brought unto Him a penny. And He
said unto them, Whose is this
image and superscription? They say unto Him, Caesar's. Then said He unto them, Render
therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things
that are God's. [Mat
22:17-21]

It was called “tribute” money. Jesus was telling
them to be lawful (paying taxes), so Caesar would not be offended, but the
(spiritual) tribute belonged to God alone.
A similar test occurred before. Peter and Jesus had arrived in
Capernaum. Tax collectors came to Peter and asked if Jesus paid tribute
(taxes).

Peter left them without paying and went home,
where Jesus was waiting for him. When Peter told Jesus what had happened, Jesus
told Peter to go fishing and check the mouth of the first fish he caught, which
would have a coin in it. He was to take the coin and pay the tribute (taxes),
so as not to upset the officials.

And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money (tax collectors) came to Peter,
and said, Does not your master pay tribute? He said, Yes. And when he was come
into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What think you, Simon? of whom do
the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of
strangers?

Peter said unto him, Of strangers. Jesus said unto him, Then are the
children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go you to the sea,
and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first comes up; and when you have
opened his mouth, you shall find a piece of money: that take, and give unto
them for Me and thee. [Mat
17:24-27]

Opposing Views Regarding Politics

Ironically, the day before I was going to post
this next segment of this series (a week and a half ago – November 5), I was
sent an email with an article written by Andrew Strom.

I already had the rest of the series almost
finished and set to publish, but admittedly, Strom’s article gave me pause.
Yet, when I went over it again slowly a few days later, it was not altogether
clear to me if Strom was making a blanket statement critiquing every Christian
who took a stand on political issues or not. It was also not clear if he only
meant certain issues, as he had not mentioned abortion, homosexuality, gay
marriage etc.

There have been some
articles written by Strom that have drifted across my desk in the past that I
did not agree with, but frankly, I do not know the man or his ministry, or much
else about him. That being said, it is true that there are those who take their
beliefs to an extreme and indeed stir up division, strife, contention, hatred
and violence.

When writing about taking
a stand on moral issues from a biblical perspective, I gave a few prime
examples previously of those who stirred up division, strife and contention,
whether by instigating and provoking a group, or also wrote about those with their
‘lone wolf’ violent actions; those who took a stand to deadly extremes.

An act of violence in any
measure to bring about a political change is deemed extremism (even terrorism),
which I most certainly do not advocate on any front, be it religious,
political, environmental, ethno-national et al.

Notwithstanding, I do
believe that we have to stand firm in what the bible teaches, whilst avoiding
extremism and terrorism, at all costs. We are to reach out to the lost, but aggressive,
abusive or violent behaviour is surely not the way of the Creator or of Jesus
the Messiah.

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies,
dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and
worthless. [Titus 3:9] There are proper ways to go about
standing firm on moral and biblical principles.

Andrew Strom’s article: Politics
is Ruining Christianity. Another
article that I would like to bring to the reader’s attention was written in
2006 by a man called Rev. Mark H. Creech.

In my personal understanding of how to be “in the world, but not of the world” as
written in the Bible, I can see in scripture God’s involvement in all aspects
of life, particularly when people wanted a king to lead them, but they wanted
that king to be a mere man, not God.

“The mission, energy and investment of the church
is not to clean up the evils of society," says Davey. "The mission of
the church is to evangelize society."

It is a well-rounded article with scripture
references, worthy of reflective reading with an open and understanding mind. The
article ends with a quote from Sir Frederick Catherwood, who died last year
(2014) at the age of 89 years (born 1925).

Sir
Catherwood was not only an industrialist, but also a
Conservative MEP (Member of European Parliament) and a Christian
(evangelical). Rev.
Creech ended thusly:

“Faithful Christians seek to both evangelize and bring a righteous
influence to bear on the political process. Davey and other evangelicals who
share his view imply the latter is futile and even worldly endeavor by the
church. However, to paraphrase an argument once made by Sir Frederick
Catherwood: To try to improve politics is not worldliness but love. To wash
your hands of politics is not love, but worldliness.”

“The heart of the Gospel is that the impoverished of spirit, those
blinded by sin, those imprisoned by the bonds and chains of iniquity, those
oppressed by sin’s afflictions can be made free in Jesus Christ – not the
flawed socialistic dogma and other courses of action pursued under the slogan
“social justice”. And that’s not religious extremism or a “perverted
interpretation of faith”, but totally “evangelical”.

Andrew Strom and Rev. Mark Creech are both
professing Christians who have taken a stand; even if it seems to be opposing
views. Both sides adamantly believe their stand is indeed taken from a biblical
perspective.

No matter which position one takes, expect
opposition. Even amongst believers there will be disagreements, rebukes and
even separations. When we read the word of God, we really must pray for wisdom as
well as understanding. Sometimes we receive answers quickly, other times we
have to wait patiently and sometimes, we do not seem to get answers at all.

Watchman, What of the Night?

The burden of Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the
night? Watchman, what of the night?[Is 21:11] (This verse will be expounded upon in
a later part of this series.]

Can I make mistakes? Absolutely! Like all of us,
I do my best to avoid mistakes, but I am not without error. This life is a
learning process. The Lord does teach us, but we must not deny the ways in
which He chooses to teach us.

We learn directly from the Lord through His word
and by the Holy Spirit. Yet at the same time, we cannot deny that He also
teaches us through experience, through trials and tribulations (what some call
“life lessons”, our sufferings) and we also learn from others. God’s ways and thoughts are beyond our
comprehension.

Mankind cannot know or comprehend all of God’s
ways or thoughts any more than an ant can know or comprehend the ways or
thoughts of mankind. God’s ways are
unsearchable, unfathomable, beyond our comprehension, for such is His
greatness; His vastness!

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! how unsearchablearehis
judgments, and his ways past finding out! (unfathomable)
[Rom 11:33]

Then I beheld all the work of God, that
a man cannot find out (comprehend) the work that is done under the sun: because
though a man labour to seekitout,
yet he shall not find it; yea
further; though a wisemanthink
to knowit, yet shall he not be able to findit.[Eccl 8:17]

How often do we
determine to understand a matter, but we do not have the answers? I surely do not have all the answers, nor does
the wisest of the wise. We all want to be right, to be without error, but in
this flesh, it is not possible.

Whereisthe
wise? whereisthe
scribe? whereisthe
disputer of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty;

And base things (of no account, low) of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to
bring to nought (nothing) things that
are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. [1Cor 1:25-27]

Extremism, violence and murder are not of God. It
comes from the world, flesh and the adversary (Satan, devil). Many follow after
a god, but not the God who created us. Some profess to follow God, but they are
blinded to the truth of the gospel.

This series started with what was intended as a
simple article to announce the winning candidate of the recent election for
Prime Minister of Canada, which was won by Justin Trudeau of the Liberal party.

Having been out of the country (Canada) for many years, I
was curious to see if he stood for biblical principles since he had made his
Christian upbringing public knowledge.
The more I watched, read and learned about Trudeau, the more I began to
see similarities between him and Obama, since I lived in the States whilst
away.

However, it was not merely their similarities in
campaigning, slogans, charismatic speeches, but also in places they visited and
the things they participated in during visits.
Despite that, my focus was not on the two leaders per say, but on a
greater and growing concern that my eyes had been opened to.

The Bible tells us to watch and pray; to be
watchmen (all believers are called to be watchmen, in my understanding); to be
aware of what is going on in the world and all around us, but not to be filled
with fear.

As we watch prophecies from the Bible coming to
pass at an increased pace, there is an incredible evil arising and spreading
globally just as fast as Biblical prophecies are coming to pass. Standing back,
it is astounding to witness.

Could it be that many are looking in the wrong
direction for the False Prophet? Could it be that many are wrong about what the
beast is, and the one they suspect the Antichrist is? Did God not promise that He would do nothing
without first revealing it to His people? The eyes of many believers are being
opened to see and understand what the Holy Scriptures foretold us and how it is
all unfolding and has been for some time.

Give Us a King

It is written in more than one place and in
different ways how God sets kings up and takes them down. Jesus (Yeshua) told
Pilate that even as prefect (governor) under Tiberius (emperor), he would have
no power at all over Him (Jesus), except what was given to him (Pilate) from above. [Jn 19:11]

As the nations of the world strayed further and
further from God, our Creator, they set up their own kings (leaders). They preferred to listen to man and have one
they chose to rule over them, rather than God.
The Sovereign King did not interfere, but watched as they further set up idols
and worshipped false gods/goddesses.

Even when Israel desired a king, God gave them
what they wanted at that time, so that they would see the difference between a
man ruling over them as opposed to the God who created them ruling.

When you are come unto the land which the LORD thy God gives you and
shall possess it, and shall dwell therein, and shall say, I will set a king
over me, like as all
the nations that are about me; You shall in any wise
set him king over you, whom the
LORD thy God shall choose: one
from among thy brethren shall you set king over thee: you may not set a
stranger over you, which is not
your brother. [Deut
17:14, 15]

Israel received her kings,
but the nation fell into idolatry time after time, making and worshipping other
gods. A time even came [Jug 17:] when
Israel had no king and every man did what was right in his own eyes. One
commentary in a bible study section claims that this is the strongest and most
common form of idolatry.

Samuel was displeased and
prayed to the Lord when the people refused to turn to God to allow Him to rule
them, but once again demanded a king to lead and rule over them like the
nations around them had. (Compare toDeuteronomy 17.)

And said unto him, Behold, you are old, and your sons walk not in your
ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. (like
the rest of the world)

And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in
all that they say unto you: for they have not rejected you, but they have
rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.[1Sam
8:5; 7]

While it is also true that critics can blow
anything out of proportion, the plain fact is that the beliefs, associations
and policies of anyone who plans to rule and lead a kingdom (country/nation)
should be carefully scrutinized.

Balancing Act

Is a nonpartisan stance or neutrality a wise
position? Is impartiality not a principle of justice, to judge without being
preferential, without prejudice, without bias? When does a nonpartisan stance
or neutrality become akin to sitting on the fence? In any war, does one not have to choose which
side they shall be on?

Where is the balance? These are all things to consider and a hard
call for some in certain aspects and varying portions. No matter which side is
chosen in any battle, one must recognize and know their opposition.

It is understood that every war has many battles,
but does each side have a vision of victory, and if so, which side shall win? I would say that the side that is truly in God’s
will and obeys Him will be victorious. Deception is conspicuous, but the
valiant will persist to the end.

Like it or not, we all have to make a stand,
whether it be for good or for evil intent, motive and advantage. Nearly every potential leader claims to know
God, but which ‘god’ do they serve? Some
believe that they themselves are a ‘god’ and with eloquent speech and empty
promises convince the people of their integrity, wisdom and power.

Charles Maurice de-Talleyrand, a French diplomat,
politician and bishop popularized the idea that the world was a chessboard with
mankind being the pieces, where kings and queens, bishops and knights would be
played, one against another until one sovereign, being surrounded by their
enemies, has no way to escape (checkmate), or where the king is not in check,
but is unable to make a [legal] move (stalemate).

William Shakespeare wrote
the famous line, “all the world is a
stage, and all the men and women merely players”. One artist portrayed God and Satan as the key
players manipulating the pieces (mankind) on a chessboard. Yet another artist painted God as angrily
swiping the pieces off a chessboard.

It is unclear if the
artist’s message was to suggest that God declares, “This is not a game!” or “I
do not play games!”, or was the artist endeavoring to reveal God’s wrath
against the strategies and moves of His creation by bringing swift judgment
upon the earth (chessboard) and the pieces (mankind) in one fell swoop?

That is the beauty of art
though, isn’t it? Interpretation of a work of art is left entirely up to each
individual. If a picture is one of nature
or a portrait, the degree to which the work is appreciated is dependent not
only upon the mastery of the artist, but also upon the opinion of each
individual viewer; hence the quote, “Beauty
is in the eyes of the beholder.”

Betrayal in High Places

Governments and their leaders can betray their
people. Any one of us can be betrayed, can be caught off-guard. Don’t think so?
Jesus was betrayed, but He was not caught off-guard. He knew the betrayal was
coming, but it still was a grievous blow, particularly to His followers.

Jesus answered them,Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?[Jn 6:70]

I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that
the scripture may be fulfilled, He
that eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against Me. [Jn 13:18] (emphasis
to scripture mine)

Did King David, who himself had been betrayed,
understand he was prophesying about Judas’ betrayal to Jesus (Yeshua) when he
penned the following words? Compare the
following verse in Psalms with the words spoken by Jesus (above).

Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of
my bread, has lifted up his
heel against me.[Ps 41:6]

Yet the Living God is Omniscient
(all-knowing). From the beginning, it
was prophesied. The Lord God said to the
serpent in the Garden of Eden (foretelling of Jesus/Yeshua):

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed
and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. [Gen
6:15]

Satan thought the "he" would bruise the heel of Jesus, by using Judas to betray Jesus, and thus bring about His crucifixion (death). Therefore Satan thought that Jesus would receive the fatal blow to the "head", whilst Satan only had a bruised heel (Judas).However, Satan did not count on Jesus being resurrected from the dead. As per usual, Satan had flipped truth around; however, Sovereign God flipped it back around. The adversary bruised the heel of Jesus, but Yeshua (Jesus) dealt the enemy the fatal blow when He was raised from the dead by the power of God's precious and holy Spirit. Unable to accept defeat, Satan then began the rumour that Christ's body "was stolen by His disciples." Yes, Satan is the father of lies.

Kings (leaders) have been betrayed by those in
the own household. King David wrote about someone close to him, a friend and fellow
believer who had even accompanied David into the house of God:

For it was not an
enemy that reproached me; then
I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have
hid myself from him:

But it was you, a man
mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in
company.

[Ps 55:12-15]

Friend or Foe – For or Against?

After Joshua had led the Israelites across the
river Jordan (where the waters had parted just as they had at the Red Sea [Josh
3:16]) and camped at Gilgal, near the city of Jericho, he continued to do all
that the Lord instructed. The time came to pass that he understood that he must
prepare to overtake Jericho.

One day he looked and saw a man with a drawn
sword and courageously asked the man, in a manner of speaking, if he was friend
or foe. Only after the man answered did Joshua understand that it was one to be
revered (many theologians say it was Christ).
I am not expounding on that here, but pointing out that Joshua needed to
know where this stranger stood with him. Was the man a friend or foe; for or
against?

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his
eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword
drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Are you for us, or for our
adversaries?

And he said, Nay; but as
captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to
the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his
servant?[Josh
5:13, 14]

We have to choose. We have to make a stand.
Therefore, when it comes to those who lead us, we need to know where they stand
and if they will guard against the enemies of the nation and its people, or if
they will side with known enemies.

(Note* - If you have missed any section, go to Part
ONE and follow other links from there.)

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Overcomers

About Me

Fear the Lord and tremble at His word. The second death is real.
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Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. The last of the last days are upon us, and just as in the days of Noah (Noe), most don't want to hear it, saying;
Where is the promise of His coming, for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. [2Pet 3:4]
And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. [Jn 6:40] (words of Jesus/Yeshua)